


Second Chances

by Lockdown



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dog Fighting, Fluff, Murder, Other, Pet, Pets, mentions of animal abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23037142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lockdown/pseuds/Lockdown
Summary: Hunger drives Venom out one night, but no matter where they look, there's just no tasty criminals around. Determined to have their meal, they investigate some suspicious activity nearby, but find more than they expected.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Comments: 7
Kudos: 138





	Second Chances

Rain hammered against the windows, making the dreary streets downright depressing. Eddie flicked the blinds shut and sighed. “Looks like a perfect day to stay in, don’t you think?” he said.

 ** _Probably lots of criminals out right now_** , Venom replied eagerly. Eddie waved his hand dismissively and sat on the couch’s inviting cushions. Before he could get too comfortable, a chill ran up his back that he was unable to hide. Stretching forward until Venom could look Eddie in the face, it stared sadly at him with drooping eyes. “ **Please, Eddie? We’re hungry**.”

“Aw, no- C’mon, not the puppy dog face! Don’t look at me like that.”

Venom pouted harder, until it's bottom lip trembled.

“Fine! Fine.”

Venom’s façade perked up gleefully without a hint of sadness. Even when Eddie knew he was being manipulated, he couldn’t resist the face. He went to find a rain coat, if he had one, but Venom beat him to it. Recently, it had been learning how to mimic new textures so it could form clothes around Eddie with no one the wiser. They got the idea after Eddie ran through a rusted metal fence and scraped himself up, something that could have been avoided, Venom insisted, if it had been on the outside protecting Eddie. The symbiote spent a minute forming a passable fabric texture, wrapping around Eddie’s torso and arms and looping up into a hood like inconspicuous armor. “Ready?” he asked.

**_Ready_. **

Outside, the streets were dark, and the chilling air made Eddie’s breath fog up. Fortunately, Venom was warmer than the average rain coat and repelled water like oil. The man hunched over and walked down the sidewalk, following the street-light lit path, feeling the rain seep into his shoes and socks. He passed a pile of rotting garbage spilling from an alley; its reeking stench cloyed the damp air around him, and Venom covered his lower face to drive out the smell.

He ducked into the quiet alley where Venom began to take over. The feeling of Venom stretching over him was reminiscent of being underwater, if the water were syrup. For a moment, he was blind and deaf, until Venom connected his eyes and ears to its own. The two looked out as one, watching the pulsing heat signature of a rat in the garbage. They clawed their way up to a roof and surveyed the night, considering their options. _How hungry are we?_ Eddie asked. “ **Hungry, very hungry** ,” Venom growled, and then Eddie could feel it too, an ache in their stomach.

_Let’s go south, a lot of abandoned buildings down there._

Venom leaped from roof top to roof top, heading south but keeping their eyes peeled for an early snack. They landed on an old bridge and crept along it, the hard surface icy under their feet. Below, several people huddled around a fire, trying to keep warm and dry. They were homeless people- innocent. Venom kept prowling. Time and time again they found innocent people, often folks just trying to get home. After the fifth innocent they found, Venom was becoming annoyed. They watched a drenched woman rush to her car with an umbrella, until an angry shout from a few streets away sent them bounding over.

Lights and many voices came from a beaten down warehouse. The surrounding factories and storage yards were abandoned, filled with dilapidated fences and molding crates. By now the rain was a thin drizzle soaking the ground and dripping from eaves, but the clouds still blocked out the moonlight. Creeping to a hole in the tin roof, Venom examined the scene inside.

At least fifteen people sat or stood around a boarded pit in the center. Venom smelled the liquor and smoke on them, but the tangy scent of fresh blood was stronger. Inside the pit, a dog sat still in a red puddle, and Eddie winced at the deep gash in its shoulder and the bites covering it. Venom began salivating. **“These ones?”** they rumbled.

_Sick ‘em._

They kicked through the roof like tissue paper, landing in the throng of people who hadn’t yet realized what was happening. Rain dripped down their lean shoulders as they surveyed the crowd, then opened their maw to release an ear-shattering roar. Most people dropped to the ground or froze in open-mouthed terror, but a few tried to race to the exit. The rapid pulse of their hearts beat like a drum in their head, and they let their tongue hang out to taste the blood on the air. Soon, their hunger would be satisfied.

Their muscles rippled as they sprang over the tables and landed of two of the runners. One’s spine snapped on impact, and the other they scooped up with needle-sharp claws and slung into the third they missed. The others began to scream now, adding to the mayhem. Venom lunged at anyone who ran at the door, decapitating them with wet _snaps_ to ensure they didn't get up again. With one arm they heaved a table to block the exit, and turned to the remaining humans with a vicious smile. Like fish in a barrel, they caught them with careless ease. They launched tables in high arcs and plunged recklessly with snapping teeth, their talons tearing up all below them.

Finally, they looked around, but nothing moved. Only the hanging lights swayed on black cords, most with shattered bulbs. Venom stopped still, and listened. Behind the bar a few meters away, a single person breathed shallow gulps of air. Venom shrank down and pressed their belly to the blood-stained floor as they stalked soundlessly closer. They could hear the strained heartbeat of the person, the scent of fear and sweat in their nostrils. It was delicious. With a wiggle of their hips, Venom pushed off their legs and landed on the person, ripping into them like a chew toy.

With it all over, Venom began to calm down from their frenzy. They went about the room scanning the bodies, throwing the more delectable ones across their arm. Like a child bites off the head of a gingerbread man cookie, Venom bit the heads off first. They wouldn’t hunger for a while after tonight. While the alien focused on their meal, Eddie used the time to listen to the room. Very faintly, he could feel the slow beat of a heart.

 _I think you missed someone_ , he told the symbiote.

Venom turned their head and listened, following the sound to the pit. A couple bodies had fallen in- which Venom snatched up- but the sound was from the prostrate dog. Blood dripped from the wounds littering it’s hide, and Eddie felt a pang of sorrow. “ **Eddie** ,” Venom said softly, “ **Don’t be sad**.”

Venom wasn’t very affected by the dog, but they could feel the weight of it on his mind. Dropping the bodies, they gently cradled the dying dog in their arms. " **It might not be too late** ," they told him, and left the warehouse the way they came in. They had never needed a vet before, but it wasn't difficult to find a twenty-four hour emergency clinic. Venom found a quiet place nearby and transformed back into Eddie’s rain coat, not losing hold of the animal through the whole transition.

Eddie hurried into the clinic and got the attention of the receptionist. After some hurried talk, a couple nurses helped take the dog from him and whisked her away through a door. The receptionist, a young man with a lazy eye, passed him a clipboard and pen. "We'll let you know what we find out sir, but could you fill this out while you wait?" he asked in a nasally voice. Eddie took it and nodded. The stiff wooden seats in the reception room were impossible to get comfortable in, so he leaned forward and rubbed his sleeve between two fingers. He went through the mechanical task of filling in paperwork- his name, number, etc.- but wasn't sure what to write for "Client Information." It wasn't like he knew the age or breed of the dog, much less her name. He left it blank and returned it to the receptionist. He glanced at the sheet and back at Eddie. "Is it your dog, Mr. Brock?" he asked politely. "No, not mine. I, uh, found her, o-out in an alley," he told him. It wasn't a complete lie.

The receptionist tisked. “Happens with fighting dogs. Most are left to die after they’ve been injured. An injured dog takes a lot of money to fix up, and won't be as strong as before. Not to mention the questions they'd get from the doctors.” Eddie just nodded. "If you need the restroom sir, it's in the back."

"Restroom?" Eddie said dumbly, then looked down at himself. Dried dog blood stained his hands, and he sheepishly found the men's room. He locked the door and turned the faucet on high and stared into the mirror. If it was so expensive to help the injured dog, would the clinic do it? He assumed she would go into a shelter after the vet but maybe it wasn't so simple. "Fuck, would a shelter even take her? She's a fighting dog, no one wants a dangerous dog...," he thought aloud.

The mirror steamed up and Eddie remembered he should be washing his hands. He turned the temperature lower. When the glass cleared, Venom's puzzled face looked back at him. **_She’s dangerous?_** it asked. "Yeah. I mean, she only knows how to fight. People who want dogs want them for the companionship, but dogs like this one haven't been trained for that. People worry about it turning on the owner or something," he explained, looking awkward. When he said it like that, it sounded awfully unfair to the animal.

Venom mulled it over for a few moments. **_Hmm. Well, not everyone can have their own Eddie._ **

"Their own Eddie?”

 ** _Yes. When I arrived on Earth, I only knew how to fight, only wanted to harm. It’s survival of the fittest where I come from, fighting is ‘in my blood’ so to speak. I was dangerous- I _am_ dangerous_,** It smiled devilishly, ** _But then you changed me with your... companionship._**

The words comforted him, but only so much, and Eddie’s sorrow was a bitter taste on Venom’s tongue. **_What is it?_**

"I don't want to leave her to die. It's not- it isn’t fair. She deserves a second chance to have a better life."

Venom answered his unspoken question. **_I don’t care if we keep the dog, Eddie. It makes you happy, so we should do it._**

The man blinked in surprise, then felt warm in his chest. He left the bathroom cheerfully, until he noticed the receptionist waiting for him. “Mr. Brock,” the younger man began, his expression professional, “If the dog is going to have any chance to survive, she would need to go into emergency surgery now for stitches. This wouldn’t be a problem, except she has no owner. That combined with her history would make her only option euthanasia.” He seemed to be gauging for Eddie’s reaction, trying to read his expression before continuing. “If you'd like to adopt her, we could proceed with the surgery, and euthanasia won’t be necessary. We gotta know now though.” Eddie nodded and rubbed his sleeve. He cleared his throat and spoke up, "Yes, I think we- I- would like to adopt her. How much money we talking here?" He was sure what little money he had saved would be exhausted, he only felt good about it.

The receptionist guided him through the procedure his dog needed and the financial consequences before giving him the adoption papers with a pen. He noted the receptionist seemed friendlier than before. Eddie glanced down at all the information and realized it asked many of the questions he didn’t know earlier. **_We can answer that first one_** , Venom piped up. “The name?” he mumbled.

**_Yes. Something strong, the name of a survivor. What about Gladiator?_ **

“Gladiator,” he said, thinking about the sound. “I like it.” He jotted in her name, and though he knew nothing else about her- not her breed, her age, or her past- he had a good feeling that she would survive.

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea of Venom and Eddie getting a pet, I think they'd be good owners. Sorry for any typos, I am my own beta lol. Comments are very welcome!


End file.
